American Agri-Women Awards Helen Whitmore Memorial Convention Scholarship

American Agri-Women (AAW) recently honored four women with the Helen Whitmore Memorial Scholarship at the annual AAW Convention held in Bozeman. The scholarship helps first-time convention attendees with their travel expenses.

Ashly Ann LemHouse, Junction City, Oregon, obtained a Bachelor of Science at Oregon State University in Agricultural Sciences and volunteered at Oregon Ag in the Classroom. After graduation, her first job was at an organic dairy in Bavaria, Germany. Ashly was very excited to attend the national event with other like-minded, hardworking women who are also passionate about agriculture.

After High School graduation, Kelby Riley, Abernathy, Texas, attended West Texas A&M, graduated with an Ag Media & Communications B.S. degree with a minor in Ag Business in 2014, and went on to get her M.B.A. in 2018. Kelby is very active in the Texas Agri-Women Panhandle Chapter, holding the office of Vice-President. Community service has always been a big part of Kelby’s life.

Keila Schilling, Dalhart, Texas, graduated from West Texas A&M, majoring in Ag-Business and Applied Agriculture Economics, Masters in Agri-Business from Texas A&M, and is presently working for Capital Farm Credit. She became involved in AAW in 2019, working with Texas Agri-Women to get a new chapter organized, elected as chapter president for 2020-2021, and has since transitioned to Parliamentarian for 2022. Her goals are to utilize her personal experience, grow and expand her knowledge in agriculture and continue to be a force in her community.

Jami Willard, from Interlaken, New York, graduated early from high school to help her grandfather. She completed her senior internship year on his farm and managed calves for the local dairy farm while attending community college. She completed her associate’s degree, finished a bachelor’s degree online through Ashford University, Master’s Degree in Agricultural Education from Sunny Oswego. Jamie completed her student teaching as an actual teacher in the field in, Fall of 2020. She is the FFA advisor, and with fantastic support from the school and community, they have made a significant impact quickly. They recently brought back the FFA Chapter, and as the advisor, future goals would be to construct a school barn to teach students more hands-on by giving them real-life experience.

Helen Whitmore would be very proud of the four scholarship recipients honored at the American Agri-Women Convention recently in Bozeman. This scholarship was named to honor Helen Whitmore, a well-respected rancher and teacher from California, in 1993. The scholarship was established to increase active involvement in AAW and to encourage members to influence their home affiliate members. The passion and desire to build relationships that further develop and support the foundation of agriculture are for our great nation.

About American Agri-Women

American Agri-Women (AAW) is the national coalition of farm, ranch, and agribusiness women’s organizations that educate consumers, advocate for agriculture and offers networking and professional development opportunities. Go to the AAW website for more information and to join www.americanagriwomen.org. Find AAW on social media at: Facebook.com/AgriWomen/, Twitter.com/Women4Ag/ (@Women4Ag) and Instagram.com/americanagriwomen/ (@americanagriwomen). #standupspeakout4ag